Recently, the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning regarding the Norovirus, stating that it is currently in a high incidence period. Mainland Chinese media have also started reporting guidance from health authorities, emphasizing the need for patients to be isolated and not allowed to work or attend classes while sick.
Last October, the National Health Commission released the “Guidelines for Norovirus Infection Prevention, Control, and Disinfection Techniques in Key Places such as Schools,” mandated to be implemented across different regions. However, this guideline was practically ignored, with minimal coverage from the media in China which failed to highlight measures like isolation and restrictions on attending work or classes while infected. This lack of awareness led to a widespread outbreak of the virus. It was only four months after the guidelines were issued that centers like the one in Shanghai began raising awareness and emphasizing the need for isolation and restrictions on attending work or classes.
On February 23rd, the Shanghai-based news outlet “The Paper” reported on the alert issued by the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention with a headline that read, “Beware! Highly Contagious! Shanghai Enters High Incidence Period! No Vaccines or Specific Medications…” The report cited health officials stating that “March is still in the late high incidence period of the Norovirus, and it remains highly contagious.” Parents in Shanghai were urged to take the situation seriously.
In addition, Shanghai’s official website “Today Minhang” emphasized the need to maintain safe social distancing measures.
On February 24th, Shandong Radio Broadcasting Station issued an urgent reminder stating, “Several disease control centers in different regions have warned that the Norovirus has entered a high incidence season. Currently, there is no specific medication available, and alcohol is not effective against it. The virus can survive in water at 60 degrees Celsius, and 75% alcohol-based hand sanitizers cannot kill it. Everyone should prioritize safety and avoid gatherings.”
Likewise, Hefei High-tech Zone issued a reminder, emphasizing that “schools should be highly vigilant against the concentrated outbreak of the Norovirus.” They quoted the National Health Commission’s guidelines on the prevention and treatment of the disease, stating that when individuals are infected with the Norovirus in key places like schools, they should be promptly isolated, and decontamination measures should be taken as soon as possible. Employees or students showing symptoms are not allowed to work or attend classes while sick.
Four months ago, Shenzhen disclosed a high incidence of Norovirus. Shenzhen News Network reported on October 13 last year that Shenzhen was in a period of high Norovirus infection, where an infected person could release billions of viruses.
At that time, the online comment section of the Shenzhen News Network had over five thousand comments, depicting a dire situation in the comments from locals.
A resident from Guangdong, Yan Yan, mentioned experiencing body aches, loss of appetite for a week leading to a weight loss of about ten kilograms, and ongoing fatigue and weakness, staying bedridden throughout the day and night.
Another user from Guangdong, nicknamed “Donggua,” commented, “It’s been a month, with no relief, experiencing back pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. I’ve undergone electrocardiograms and CT scans, but there was no diagnosis until finally confirming it is this virus.”
Back then, a student from Hubei mentioned that the entire school in Hubei was infected, leading to a temporary halt in classes, starting with students and then affecting adults.
A student from Henan also complained, saying, “Many of us in our school are exhibiting these symptoms, and a lot of people have taken sick leave and gone back home.”
At that time, many netizens questioned why such news did not become trending. Only the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control acknowledged the widespread outbreak of the Norovirus.
It took the Shanghai Center for Disease Control four months after the release of the guidelines by the National Health Commission to alert the public about the high incidence period of Norovirus. It was only then that the Chinese media started emphasizing the importance of patients not working or attending classes while sick.
On February 13, the threat of the Norovirus continued to escalate in Shenzhen. Shenzhen News Network further emphasized the severity of the Norovirus locally by upgrading its risk level to “medium.” They reported that from October to March every year, Shenzhen experiences a peak in Norovirus infections causing infectious diarrhea.
While some domestic disease control centers in China have issued warnings about the high incidence period of the Norovirus, it has been 10 days since Shenzhen was classified as a medium-risk area.
On November 30 last year, China’s National Health Commission issued the “Guidelines for Norovirus Infection Prevention, Control, and Disinfection Techniques in Key Places such as Schools,” requiring all provinces and cities to adhere to the procedures.
According to the technical guidelines, when a Norovirus-infected patient is identified in key places like schools, they should be immediately isolated and appropriate decontamination measures should be carried out promptly. Individuals showing symptoms are not allowed to work or attend classes.
Searching on Google with the keywords “Norovirus, virus, disease control center” only produces one page of results. Among them, only one website, Observer, mentioned a headline related to students with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea being prohibited from attending school.
Even Shanghai’s media outlet The Paper reported just three days ago with the headline “Official Release! Highly Contagious, Do Not Attend Work or School While Sick,” citing the guideline released by the National Health Commission about four months earlier, not recently.
Currently, the Chinese state media refrains from extensively reporting the guidelines issued by health authorities, and public discussions on the topic are restricted. People resort to using coded language on social media to avoid censorship, with bloggers replacing terms like Coronavirus with “little can,” Norovirus with “little Nor,” the United States with “ugly country,” and Avian Influenza with “little bird flu,” among others. When someone first enters live broadcasts, they may question if the host is speaking Chinese.
A Chinese-American scholar residing in the United States, Li Hengqing, remarked to Epoch Times that officials from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention have immigrated to the United States. When asked whether the lack of an emergency mechanism at the CDC caused the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus from Wuhan to the rest of the world, the response was that the CDC had established a comprehensive epidemic response mechanism following the SARS outbreak. However, the issue at the time was that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China ordered local authorities not to disclose information to prevent causing societal panic, and to wait until after the Spring Festival to make the outbreak public. This led to the televised confession of Dr. Li Wenliang and the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaking in support of the Chinese government, claiming that the epidemic in China was preventable and manageable, which ultimately resulted in the global spread of the Wuhan virus, causing significant loss of lives.
Li further warned that the Chinese Communist Party is now repeating the same mistakes, posing a significant threat worldwide in terms of virus control. Victims of the epidemic in some U.S. states have even taken legal action against the Chinese Communist Party, seeking accountability and compensation.
According to the health information available, the Norovirus spreads rapidly and is challenging to control. It affects the entire population, has a low infectious dose (as low as 18 virus particles can cause an infection), a short incubation period (usually 24 to 48 hours), mutates quickly, and has a long period of shedding (peaking at 2 to 5 days after onset and lasting about 2 to 3 weeks).
The virus has a strong environmental resistance (requiring temperatures above 80 degrees Celsius to be killed, and alcohol is ineffective against it), surviving on surfaces like doorknobs and utensils for over 7 days. It can remain viable in frozen foods for months or longer, as low temperatures do not kill it. Disinfection is recommended using chlorine-based cleaners.
The virus has multiple transmission routes, including fecal-oral and airborne. Immunity post-infection lasts only half a year to a year, and reinfection with the same or different strain is possible.
Comments on posts discussing the Norovirus on social media are filled with accounts of suffering from infected individuals across the country, painting a bleak picture. Many express the difficulty of surviving during this time of various outbreaks, with one patient from Jiangsu stating, “I spent tens of thousands of yuan treating H1N1 pneumonia, and now, with the Norovirus here, survival is a struggle!”
Mr. Wu from Chongqing remarked, “Today this virus, tomorrow another—living without a sense of security; is it the end of the world?”